Various types of devices have been known in the prior art for destroying insects. In some devices, the insects are trapped in the device after entering, either by mechanical construction or by sticking to a gummy substance. In either instance, the device is soon full and useless. In devices which contain a poison, it is relatively easy to shake out loose poison, or to probe through openings to reach the poison, thus making them dangerous to children and domestic animals.
In order to attract insects into an insect destroying device, it is necessary to include an insect attractant or bait, such as a food or a pheromone used in conjunction with a food. The insect attractant of prior art devices is typically blended with an insect toxicant so that the insect will be encouraged to ingest the toxicant when it feeds on the attractant. However, many toxicants have a flavor which is distasteful or repellent to the insect thereby discouraging the insect from ingesting the toxicant. The flavor of the toxicant can, in some instances, mask the attractant aspect of the bait. Therefore, a toxicant and a bait sometimes have opposite effects on insects. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to use special baits, increased amounts of baits or feeding stimulants to overcome the undesirable effect of the toxicant with which the bait is mixed.
Examples of prior art insect destroying devices can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 552,644; 1,573,278; 1,887,771; 2,837,861; 4,823,506; 4,841,669; 4,761,912; 4,793,093; 4,837,969; 4,563,836; 4,485,582; 4,563,836; 5,033,229; 5,057,315; and 5,057,316.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an insect destroying device in which the toxicant is securely contained within the device. There is also a need in the art for an insect destroying device in which the insect attractant and the toxicant do not have opposite or competing effects upon the target insect. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for an insect destroying device in which the toxicant is more efficiently applied to an insect and/or subsequently spread to other members of an insect colony.